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POLITICAL COLUMN

EXCLUSIVE: Tom Vilsack offered to resign over Shirley Sherrod

'I made a very hasty decision which I deeply regret,' Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. |
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And Vilsack told him about a farm family with seven sons, six of whom had grown up to become doctors or lawyers. But the seventh son became a farmer and got too deeply in debt during the farm crisis of the 1980s, and one day he walked into his barn and hanged himself from a rafter. He was in his late 20s, and his young son found him there.

Then Vilsack talked about devoting his life to helping other farm families.

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But here it was Tuesday morning with Vilsack saying how he had disappointed the administration, the country and Sherrod.

And you used that word on purpose? I asked Vilsack. Because it harkened back to what you promised the president?

Vilsack nodded. “That came to my mind,” he said. And then he straightened up in his chair and said, “And that is why I am working doubly hard.”

And it seems to be working, at least regarding his relationship with the president.

“He has talked to me twice,” Vilsack said. “Once was at his birthday party, and he put his arm around me and he said, ‘How are you doing? You have had a lousy couple of weeks.’ ” (The president actually used a word other than “lousy.”)

Vilsack said he was concentrating on his job. “Just hang in there,” the president told him.

And Vilsack is. Though the Sherrod incident has hardly made him gun-shy to speak his mind.

When I asked him about the “100 percent border security” that some people dream about to keep illegal immigrants out of the country, Vilsack said: “Somewhere between 50 to 60 percent of the food you eat has been touched by immigrant hands, and it is fair to say some of them are not here as they should be here.

“But if you didn’t have these folks, you would be spending a lot more — three, four or five times more — for food, or we would have to import food and have all the food security risks. Neither is what Americans want. What they want is what we have. Which is why we need comprehensive immigration reform.”

Then we talked about that part of America that doesn’t get written about a lot. “People don’t understand rural America,” he said. “Sixteen percent of our population is rural, but 40 percent of our military is rural. I don’t believe that’s because of a lack of opportunity in rural America. I believe that’s because if you grow up in rural America, you know you can’t just keep taking from the land. You’ve got to give something back.”

On Vilsack’s desk is an iron hand grenade in the shape of an ear of corn. It is to remind him that “sometimes you have to blow up the place.”

So I asked him a question so completely explosive that no ordinary agriculture secretary would go anyplace near it.

What do you think of building a mosque near ground zero? I asked.

“You know, I haven’t really thought about it a great deal,” Vilsack said. “I just hope wherever they build it, they have a garden. With lots of trees.”

What Vilsack said was “Somewhere between 50 to 60 percent of the food you eat has been touched by immigrant hands, and it is fair to say some of them are not here as they should be here. But if you didn’t have these folks, you would be spending a lot more- - three, four or five times more - - for food,..."

Only a portion of that 50 to 60 percent i illigal.

OK, So let's have immigration reform. We issue work permits t all immigrants who enter teh country legally for work, no promises or guarantees of citizenship. When the work is done, they go home. If you hire an illegal immigrant, there is a $20,000 fine for each illigal you hire.

I live in Thailand, and a similar system works here. I am also required by law to carry my Passport with me at all times, to show that I am legally here.

Vilsack's decision to Put Sherod on administrative leave was maybe a quick decission, but at the same time, what if he had done nothing and she really had refused help to a white farmer. WHat would the public and political reaction be to that. DAmned if you do and damned if you don.

chuckle> But as long as all this in-depth investigative reportage was going on (aha! Another official with that self-aggrandizing TRoosevelt quote on his wall! And WHAT?? Illegals are keeping U.S. food prices down? SCOOP!) you might have asked a folo-up question on those megabucks racial-discrimination lawsuits against the Dept of Ag you mentioned, tho almost in passing.

For instance, what's this I hear about Ms. Sherrod's own farm co-op set to receive $12 million in settlement fees for one of the lawsuits -- again, against the department for which she worked? Might that have been as valid a point to discuss as the Secretary's longstanding "sensitivity" or his preference for Starbucks?

Instead, here's a column about a guy who "offered" (apparently, without quite actually making the offer) his resignation for doing a half-assed job. We probably don't want to go there, since it might start a trend that decimates both government ...and the media.

For the good of King and Kingdom I will fall upon my sword. Sound familiar? This article shows the hypocracy of Politico. First of all Sherrod did wrong and tried to cover her behind with her speech. Second Vilsack did wrong in his position with the Obama Administrtion. That being said this shows the absolute corruption and ineptitude of our Governement to the core. Instead of saying he will resign for the good of the adminstrtion HE SHOULD BE FIRED--PERIOD. He was/is a politicl hack from the word go and has hung on the Obama coattails. (Who appointed him?) This to me shows the poor quality of patronage of appointing by the Obama Administration. From the top down most appointees have left in either disgrace or a cloud of suspicion. I challenge anyone on thie blog to say one thing positive about Vilsack. Also where was Congress (Democratic of Course) when it came to vetting. To me they were in the pocket of the corrupt Obama Administration. Have lost any faith in Washington. Time for a clean sweep and I am not either a Democrat or Republican but an American.

For the good of King and Kingdom I will fall upon my sword. Sound familiar? This article shows the hypocracy of Politico. First of all Sherrod did wrong and tried to cover her behind with her speech. Second Vilsack did wrong in his position with the Obama Administrtion. That being said this shows the absolute corruption and ineptitude of our Governement to the core. Instead of saying he will resign for the good of the adminstrtion HE SHOULD BE FIRED--PERIOD. He was/is a politicl hack from the word go and has hung on the Obama coattails. (Who appointed him?) This to me shows the poor quality of patronage of appointing by the Obama Administration. From the top down most appointees have left in either disgrace or a cloud of suspicion. I challenge anyone on thie blog to say one thing positive about Vilsack. Also where was Congress (Democratic of Course) when it came to vetting. To me they were in the pocket of the corrupt Obama Administration. Have lost any faith in Washington. Time for a clean sweep and I am not either a Democrat or Republican but an American.

Listen - there are no such thing as cheap tomatoes. Whatever illegals get paid in wages, they make up for in free health care, free education, access to food banks and subsidized housing. They don't buy car insurance. They send money back to Mexico on a regular basis instead of spending it here and helping our economy. We pay and pay and pay for those "cheap tomatoes".

Why would he resign over doing the right thing after Sherrod exposed herself fo what she is. She and her family reaped the benefits of a fraudulent government program to the tune of ~$13M. He speech was not 20+ years ago. Read the whole speech and come to a different conclusion other than she is one the, " You've had yours, now it's my turn." crowd.

Why would he resign over doing the right thing after Sherrod exposed herself fo what she is. She and her family reaped the benefits of a fraudulent government program to the tune of ~$13M. He speech was not 20+ years ago. Read the whole speech and come to a different conclusion other than she is one the, " You've had yours, now it's my turn." crowd.

Where is the story about 3 times as many black farmers claiming descrimination as there are black farmers and getting millions of dollars for made up descrimination. And Shirley's commune that had gone out of business was reconstituted to collect 12 million and she and hubby got $300,000 each for their suffering. Where is that story. I can't find it.

Vilsack also spoke frankly about how without the labor of illegal immigrants, the price of food in the United States would cost “three, four, or five times more than it does now.”

Dear Sec. Valsack: This is pure BS and you know it. You and your gang of thugs need to secure the border as you have been told by the American Citizens. We are our of patience with you and your master.

Vilsack, would you let your friends "sleep" with your children because they give you beer? (Otherwise, you would have to buy your own.) The excuse/justification that food would cost more if we didn't have illegals, although true--we know that, is lame, at best. In order to protect the Constitution and the USA, I would pay 3 times as much as I now do for fruit, meat, and vegetables. I would gripe about it (I gripe now), but, I would do it, and cut down/cut out any junk food I might otherwise buy. Realizing that many jobs are are supported by the junk food industry, I realize that it would cause some major adjustments, but, we would adjust. If unions were kept out of it, the price hikes shouldn't be too much to bear.

Vilsack seems like a nice guy. Yes, he jumped the gun, he was wrong and unprofessional, and I imagine he will think of this episode every day of his life. I hope that he will somehow be able to remember it without getting bogged down with destructive regret. If Sherrod had accepted a plum position, he might have felt better, but... This has been another example of the same lesson we all should have learned as children--get all the facts before reaching a conclusion/decision.

Say what you will about Glenn Beck, but, he acted like an adult in this mess. Actually, I have watched a few of his tv show episodes, and am baffled when people say that he preaches hate and divisiveness. I've noticed that the opposite is true.

Slimey politicians and members of the media are having a heyday with the racial overtones being promoted by this administration, and it is understandable when decent people get caught up in the turmoil. However, common sense demands that we always get the facts and judge each case on its own merits. I hope that Sherrod will find her niche, and it will be to promote/model the "equality for all" point which she was trying to make during the part of the NAACP speech which has caused this mess.

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